1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical or electronic components and particularly in one exemplary aspect to apparatus and methods to prevent insertion of improper modular type plugs into corresponding jacks.
2. Description of Related Technology
Modular jack connectors, such as for example those of the “RJ” configuration, are well known in the electronics industry. Such modular jack connectors are adapted to receive one or more modular plugs of varying type (e.g., RJ-45 or RJ-11), and communicate signals between the terminals of the modular plug and the parent device with which the modular jack connector is associated. Commonly, some form of signal conditioning (e.g., filtering, voltage transformation, or the like) is performed by the connector on the signals passing through it or by electronic components adjacent to the connector.
In telecommunications data and voice applications, there are modular jacks and plugs which contain differing numbers of poles or contacts (e.g. 4, 6, 8, etc.). Typically, the pitch between the terminals are the same for a plurality of different connector types so that, for example, a six-pole type modular plug can be plugged by mistake into an eight-pole type modular jack, which can cause electrical and/or mechanical malfunction.
This problem has been addressed in a myriad of prior art solutions, including for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,821 to Ngai, et al. issued May 26, 1998 and entitled “Device for preventing the erroneous connection of signal lines to a computer network hub” discloses either of a pair of adjacent plug holes in a computer network hub that is automatically closed by a swinging door plate whenever a connector of a signal line is inserted into the other plug hole to prevent the simultaneous insertion of two connectors into both plug holes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,835 to Cheshire issued Feb. 13, 2001 and entitled “Socket connector having a flexible internal barrier to prevent incorrect insertion of smaller sized plugs” that discloses a socket connector that has flexible interior barriers to prevent incorrect insertion of smaller sized plugs, where a flexible internal barrier is formed on a side of the socket entry leading into the socket cavity, and is composed of a flexible ramp attached from the socket entry, the ramp extending into the socket cavity and having a inner movable end with a vertical barrier, sized and disposed within the socket cavity so that the insertion of a correctly sized wide plug will engage the flexible ramp, riding along and moving the flexible ramp so that the vertical barrier is moved out of a stopping position, allowing the correctly sized wide plug to be fully and properly seated in the cavity, but further sized and disposed within the socket cavity so that the insertion of an incorrectly sized narrow plug will fail to engage the ramp, will not flex the ramp, and will leave the vertical barrier in the stopping position, where it prevents the incorrectly sized narrow plug from being fully inserted into the socket cavity. The improved socket can be an RJ45 network socket, the correctly sized wide plug can be an RJ45 network plug, and the incorrectly sized narrow plug can be an RJ11 telephone plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,528 to Roberts, et al. issued Oct. 2, 2001 and entitled “Jack with feature for selectively restricting plug insertion” discloses a modular jack that includes a rectangular dielectric receptacle housing having a front face, a bottom board mounting wall, and a top, rear and a pair of side walls substantially surrounding a plug-receiving cavity. The cavity extends rearwardly from the front face for receiving a mating plug connector. In order to limit insertion of an undersized plug into a full-sized plug-receiving cavity in the receptacle housing, a stop surface is incorporated into a flexible stop member projecting from the housing and extending into the plug-receiving cavity. The stop surface is located within the cavity so as to ensure contact with a leading edge of an undersized plug upon insertion of the undersized plug into the cavity. A sliding surface is also incorporated into the flexible member. The sliding surface is located within the cavity so as to ensure contact with a leading edge of a plug upon insertion into the cavity of a mating plug having a width appropriate for mating with the jack. The sliding surface resides closer to the front face of the receptacle housing than does the stop surface. When an undersized plug is inserted into the cavity, the leading edge of the undersized plug contacts the stop surface, preventing full insertion of the undersized plug into the cavity. When a mating plug is inserted into the cavity, the leading edge of the mating plug contacts the more forwardly-positioned sliding surface before reaching the stop surface. Sliding contact between the sliding surface and the mating plug leading edge causes the sliding surface to move. This movement produces a corresponding movement in the flexible stop member and the stop surface incorporated thereon such that the stop surface is located out of engagement with the leading surface of the mating plug, permitting full insertion of the mating plug into the cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,156 to Hasircoglu, et al. issued Feb. 26, 2002 and entitled “Modular jack with deflectable plug-blocking member” discloses a modular jack for receiving an RJ-45 plug and for blocking insertion of an RJ-11 plug. The modular jack has stamped and formed deflection members having retention sections, ramp surfaces and blocking tabs extending from ends of the ramp surfaces. The blocking tabs project laterally inwardly toward the plug-receiving cavity and block an RJ-11 plug from being inserted into the modular jack. An RJ-45 plug is wider than the RJ-11 plug and engages the ramp surfaces of the deflection members to deflect the blocking tabs away from the plug-receiving cavity, thereby allowing insertion of the RJ-45 plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,987,852 to Kameya, et al. which discloses a modular jack that comprises a housing and a mechanism consisting of a pair of spring members cantilevered to the housing. The modular jack further comprises an abutment section provided at the front end of each spring member. Each abutment section consists of a cam portion having an inclined face and a stopper portion provided behind and inside the cam portion. When a modular plug having a predetermined number of poles is inserted into the modular jack, the front ends of the modular plug abut the inclined faces of the cam portions to move the abutment sections outwardly, permitting insertion of the modular plug. When a modular plug having a number of poles that is smaller than the predetermined number is inserted, the front ends of the modular plug abut against the stopper portions to block insertion of the modular plug. Numerous other solutions of varying design exist.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,879 to Higham, et al. issued Aug. 8, 2006 and entitled “Dual connector assembly with sliding keep-out member” discloses a connector assembly that includes first and second sockets disposed on opposite sides of a housing and defining first and second insertion paths, respectively, for receiving a plug. A sliding keep-out member has first and second blocking surfaces. The keep-out member can move back and forth through the housing between first and second positions. In the first position, the first blocking surface blocks at least a portion of the first insertion path, but the second blocking surface clears the second insertion path. In the second position, the second blocking surface blocks at least a portion of the second insertion path, but the first blocking surface clears the first insertion path. Thus the connector assembly may receive plugs in either the first or the second socket, but not in both sockets simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,489 to Higham, et al. issued Sep. 4, 2007 and entitled “Dual connector assembly with pivoting keep-out member” discloses a connector assembly for an electronic device that saves space and cost. It includes first and second sockets defining first and second insertion paths for receiving mating plugs. A pivoting keep-out member has first and second blocking surfaces and can be pivoted between first and second positions. In the first position, the first blocking member blocks at least a portion of the first insertion path, but the second blocking member clears the second insertion path. In the second position, the second blocking member blocks at least a portion of the second insertion path, but the first blocking member clears the first insertion path. Thus the connector assembly may receive a plug in either the first or the second socket, but not in both simultaneously.
United States Patent Publication No. 20030157843 to Thomas published Aug. 21, 2003 and entitled “Stacking connector with improper plug type prevention” discloses a stacked connector for use on a printed circuit board of a computer, for conserving connection space by providing two or more connector sockets, preferably oriented one atop the other. One or more of the connector sockets may be configured to prevent the insertion of an improper plug type having a similar form factor which is capable of being inserted into one of the sockets.
However, these prior art configurations, while effective for their designed task, are not optimized in terms of inter alia, cost and manufacturing simplicity. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved electrical connector design that would yield a simple and reliable connector that facilitates economical fabrication. Such a connector design would ideally allow for the use of anything ranging from no internal electronic components to a variety of different electronic signal conditioning components in the connector signal path(s), as well as status indicators if desired, without affecting connector profile or footprint, or requiring appreciable changes to the housing. The improved connector design would also facilitate easy assembly, as well as removal of the internal components of the device if required. The design would further be amenable to integration into a multi-port connector assembly, including the ability to vary the configuration of the internal components associated with each port of the assembly individually.